They have become known most commonly as Balthasar , Melchior , and Gaspar (or Casper). According to Western church tradition, Balthasar is often represented as a king of Arabia or sometimes Ethiopia, Melchior as a king of Persia, and Gaspar as a king of India.
Story. The story is an addition and expansion of the account of the Biblical Magi , recounted in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. It tells about a ” fourth ” wise man (accepting the tradition that the Magi numbered three), a priest of the Magi named Artaban, one of the Medes from Persia.
V: “This province is called Tarshish, from which came the Three Wise Kings , and they came to Bethlehem in Judaea with their gifts and worshipped Jesus Christ , and they are entombed in the city of Cologne two days journey from Bruges.”
The Epiphany Holiday, known in Spanish speaking countries as Dia De Los Tres Reyes (Day of The Three Kings), falls annually on January 6th and marks the adoration of baby Jesus by the three Kings, also referred to as Wise Men or Magi.
The wise men brought gold, frankincense and myrrh to the newborn king . Gold, of course, was valuable as currency. Frankincense is a valuable perfume. Myrrh is a precious ointment often used in the burial process.
Using these methods, most scholars assume a date of birth between 6 and 4 BC, and that Jesus’ preaching began around AD 27–29 and lasted one to three years . They calculate the death of Jesus as having taken place between AD 30 and 36.
While the Catholic church observes Epiphany as just a single day, for many Protestant churches, Epiphany lasts from January 6 until Ash Wednesday in February and the start of Lent. The six Sundays which follow the Epiphany are known by Christians as the time of manifestation.
In this original manuscript, Balthazar is called Bithisarea, which later developed into Balthazar in Western Christianity. Balthazar was described in the 8th century by Saint Bede as being “[of] black complexion, with [a] heavy beard” with the ” myrrh he held in his hands prefigured the death of the Son of man”.
By the 15th century CE, within Europe, the three kings were regarded as representative symbols of Africa, Asia, and Europe, and they were frequently depicted within Renaissance and Baroque art with Balthazar as a black king.
The Gospel of Mark (6:3) and the Gospel of Matthew (13:55–56) mention James, Joseph/Joses, Judas/Jude and Simon as brothers of Jesus , the son of Mary.
The Virgin Mary, pregnant with the son of God, would hence have given birth to Jesus nine months later on the winter solstice. From Rome, the Christ’s Nativity celebration spread to other Christian churches to the west and east, and soon most Christians were celebrating Christ’s birth on December 25 .
Magi (/ˈmeɪdʒaɪ/; singular magus /ˈmeɪɡəs/; from Latin magus) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word magi is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius the Great , known as the Behistun Inscription.
Jesus ‘ name in Hebrew was “Yeshua” which translates to English as Joshua.
Matthew calls the visitors “Magi” (wise men) and they may well have been astrologers , following the sign of a special star in the sky. They probably came from Persia . The Magi could have come to visit weeks or even months after the shepherds visited , when Mary and Joseph had found accommodation in a house (verse 11).
Later tellings of the story identified the magi by name and identified their lands of origin: Melchior hailed from Persia , Gaspar (also called “Caspar” or “Jaspar”) from India , and Balthazar from Arabia.